As seen on

Death and Taxes Get Company

We all know there are only two things in life that are certain: death and taxes. But what about hospitals and toilets?

Well, let’s look at the certainty of hospitals today (we’ll tackle toilets another time). After all, the Obamacare debate centers on the argument that “we’ll all use healthcare at some point in our lives.”

If Obama was a trader, he might say there’s a “permanent bid” on healthcare. In layman’s terms, he’s saying:

Here’s a bar graph showing the Beta – a common measure of volatility – for each sector of the market. The S&P 500 has a Beta of 1.0 because it’s the baseline for all comparisons.

The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) has a Beta of 1.49, meaning that it’s 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. With a Beta of 0.67, the healthcare fund XLV is 33% LESS volatile than the S&P 500.sector is much less volatile.

Healthcare stocks also hold up better in market downturns. Just look at the percentage drops from October 10, 2007 to March 10, 2009. Compared to the broad market, healthcare stocks hold up better in bear markets and are less volatile.

“Market bubbles are often a mass delusion, where investors wrongly assume that prices move in only one direction – UP! And nowhere is this delusion clearer than in real estate,” says economist… Read More>>

Adam O'Dell has one purpose in mind: to find and bring to subscribers investment opportunities that return the maximum profit with the minimum risk. Adam has worked as a Prop Trader for a spot Forex firm. While there, he learned the fundamentals of trading in the world’s largest market. He excelled at trading the volatile currency markets by seeking out low-risk entry points for trades with high profit potential. An MBA graduate and Affiliate Member of the Market Technicians Association, Adam is a lifelong student of the markets. He is editor of our hugely successful trading service, Cycle 9 Alert.